Portraits of Addiction

Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Inga Cole, 41, worked as a stand-up comedian but became addicted to a variety of drugs and alcohol, falling in and out of sobriety for the last 20 years. "I'm funny so I don't kill myself," says Cole. "It's a part of the attention-seeking thing, if I'm going to be honest about it." Though she sought the spotlight, she came to rely on drugs and alcohol to "take the edge off." Cole has been able to maintain sobriety at times but now seeks "long-term sobriety" at Beit T'Shuvah. "I laugh all the time, but it's much better for me right now to just be laughing for the fun of it. I don't want to bomb." Her intake date was Jan. 26, 2010.

Inga Cole, 41, worked as a stand-up comedian but became addicted to a variety of drugs and alcohol, falling in and out of sobriety for the last 20 years. "I'm funny so I don't kill myself," says Cole. "It's a part of the attention-seeking thing, if I'm going to be honest about it." Though she sought the spotlight, she came to rely on drugs and alcohol to "take the edge off." Cole has been able to maintain sobriety at times but now seeks "long-term sobriety" at Beit T'Shuvah. "I laugh all the time, but it's much better for me right now to just be laughing for the fun of it. I don't want to bomb." Her intake date was Jan. 26, 2010. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

"I like to shoot heroin. I like not to feel. I like to be numb to the world and to myself," says Alex Saltzman, 32, who became addicted to heroin while serving four years in prison at age 19. "It's been a nightmare," says Saltzman, who has been in treatment at Beit T'Shuvah for just over a month. "I just pursued heroin into the gates of hell." Working out every day and practicing jujitsu have helped give him something to focus on in recovery. "Today I have lots of feelings, lots of emotions, and they scare me. If I can just hang on to the idea, the notion, that I can stay clean today, things will be better tomorrow. It's not going to happen overnight, but I can see the light." His intake date was March 2, 2010.

"I like to shoot heroin. I like not to feel. I like to be numb to the world and to myself," says Alex Saltzman, 32, who became addicted to heroin while serving four years in prison at age 19. "It's been a nightmare," says Saltzman, who has been in treatment at Beit T'Shuvah for just over a month. "I just pursued heroin into the gates of hell." Working out every day and practicing jujitsu have helped give him something to focus on in recovery. "Today I have lots of feelings, lots of emotions, and they scare me. If I can just hang on to the idea, the notion, that I can stay clean today, things will be better tomorrow. It's not going to happen overnight, but I can see the light." His intake date was March 2, 2010. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Beit T'Shuvah, a Mid-City Los Angeles synagogue and rehab center catering to a mostly Jewish cleintelle, leans on spirituality and the Torah to heal addiction. The facility houses 120 men and women who come from all corners of society. They include heroin junkies, alchoholics, gamblers and sex addicts. Passover was a chance to reflect on how far they've come.